This invention relates generally to improvements in method and apparatus for circulating fluids by gas injection and illuminating the mixture and relates particularly to the extraction of a component of the gas, for example the extraction of carbon dioxide from air, and converting the extracted component into a useful product without creating more of the component than is extracted.
For many people a need has arisen to lower and/or control the amount of carbon dioxide in the biosphere. At this time in history such a need may not be proven but it would be perhaps unwise to ignore the situation. Other long term habitats such as undersea vessels and space stations benefit from carbon dioxide control.
The manipulation of other substances such as carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide and the manipulation of liquid and solid particulate material is envisaged.
It is perhaps worth noting here that the following terms have been used in patents and in the industry generally:--reaction vessel, processing tank, fermenter, photoreactor, biophotoreactor, biophotolysis, photometabolic, flow through reactor, transparent, translucent, circulating liquids and contacting with a gas, perfusion apparatus, air lift, riser, traverser, downcomer, side arm, side tube, external loop and more.
This inventor invented the word themma to give the present invention a name but this inventor is having some problems registering themma as a Trade Mark in various parts of the world.
The term reactor seems to have come into general use.
Illumination is a term used in the title of the present invention, but if it can be seen it is illuminated and if parts of a system are transparent then the contents will be illuminated. Some molecules are very sensitive to illumination. Some molecules absorb at one wavelength and emit at another. Some materials absorb energy of one type and emit another type.
For the purpose of describing the present invention the term illumination preferably includes:--the electromagnetic spectrum, photons, laser beams, electrostatic fields, magnetic fields, sound waves, irradiation (which is apparently ultra violet radiation), wave energy, direct currents, alternating currents, nuclear radiation, subatomic particles, atomic particles and particles larger than atomic ones.
There have been many proposals to contact gases with liquids but these have mainly been high pressure high energy input devices designed to absorb oxygen. For example one previous device (Australian Patent No. 69,062/74) proposes injection of air at an oxygen transfer rate of sixteen kilograms per hour per cubic metre with a power transfer ratio of one point nine kilograms per kilowatt hour, into the base of a fermenter eighty metres tall.
There have been many proposals to illuminate reactors but none of these have taken energy and/or, say, carbon dioxide input/output into main consideration. For example one previous device (U.S. Pat. No. 4,010,076) proposes illumination of algae to produce NADPH and proposes illumination of bacteria to produce molecular hydrogen, nanogram quantities in ninety minutes under fourteen 100 watt lamps, neither situation involving a reagent gas. All of the above proposals have the disadvantage that a gas, such as carbon dioxide in air, cannot be utilized in an efficient, economical and environmentally sensitive manner.